Two whistleblowers who provided information to an investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process have lodged formal complaints with FIFA, accusing investigators of breaching their confidentiality and misrepresenting their evidence.

Phaedra Almajid, a former employee of the Qatar 2022 bid, and Bonita Mersiades, who worked for Australia in 2022, Agreed to provice the information to an investigation is headed by US Attorney Michael Garcia on the Basis that they would be protected.

Last week, however, a summary of Garcia’s report published by German Hans Joachim Eckert judge dismissed the evidence as unreliable and inaccurate them, and they clam Identified them effectively.

Though they were not named them the circumstances and nature of them are evidence was presented in some detail, and they say within hours they were Identified by media in Germany and the UK.

They have now asked Mr Garcia M Eckert to investigate them for breaching the confidentiality. The complaint is the latest blow to the credibility of the investigation of Garcia-Eckert.

Within hours of Mr Eckert publishing his summary last Thursday Mr Garcia disowned it, describing it as “misleading and erroneous”, and appealing against the German judge’s decision to clear Qatar, Russia and other bidders of wrongdoing.

In a joint statement Ms Mersiades and Ms Almajid said: “The summary by Judge Eckert clearly breached all such assurances of confidentiality. Although not named in the report, we were clearly identifiable and within hours of its publication had been widely unmasked as the ‘whistleblowers’ in German, British and Australian media.

“To compound this situation Judge Eckert used his summary report to question our credibility. This is particularly puzzling as the summary simultaneously uses the same information we provided to form significant parts of his inquiry in respect of the Australian and Qatar World Cup bids.”

In her letter to Mr Garcia Ms Almajid describes Mr Eckert’s findings as “crude, cynical and fundamentally erroneous”, and of breaching her confidentiality.

“As I have explained to you and your colleagues, confidentiality was crucial to my cooperation with your investigation, considering my personal circumstances, particularly the safety of my two sons and me.

“Not only was Herr Eckert’s summary a crude, cynical and fundamentally erroneous description of me and the information and materials I provided your investigation, it directly breached FIFA’s assurances of my confidentiality.

“Although Herr Eckert did not name me in his report, he directly identified me and my information by connecting it to my publicly reported statements three years ago.

“Within hours of publication of Herr Eckert’s summary, I had already been widely identified as one of the ‘whistleblowers’ in German and British media.

“In any organisation – particularly one with huge resources and global reach like FIFA – protection of insiders who expose wrongdoing is essential to an honest and healthy business.”

“Identifying me and falsely discrediting me sends a message to anyone who may think to come forward that their credibility and protection will be in jeopardy for the rest of their lives.

“I have taken great personal risks to stand up for the truth in a highly politicised atmosphere. However, I have found myself betrayed and denigrated for being courageous enough to come forward with critical information.”

Ms Almajid provided Mr Garcia with documents and testimony relating to the conduct of Qatar’s World Cup bid, including details on the use of the Aspire Academy, the role of consultants, and the £1.2m  sponsorship of  the Confederation of African Football congress in Angola in 2010

In 2011 she signed an affidavit withdrawing allegations of wrongdoing against Qatar. She has now disowned that document, which was signed in the presence of a senior member of the Qatar 2022 organising committee.

In his summary Mr Eckert says the retraction raised “serious concerns” about her credibility.

Doubt was cast on Ms Mersiades’s testimony meanwhile because she spoke to the media about her concerns.

In the case of both women Mr Eckert states that nothing they said was accepted without corroboration from a separate source. They do not state if any such rule applied to the evidence of football officials from bidding nations.

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